In Wake of the Petals
by Divine-Red-Crayon
Summary: [Sequel to Fallen Petals of the Rose] James assumes Sekart's identity and lives up to its murderous name, calling once again for the Bebop crew to step in. What's his hidden agenda and what does it have to do with Spike and Faye? (Eventual SF)
1. The Plan Play it by Ear

**::AN::** A sequel, I did it! I started a sequel! I hope you're all happy! I am!

For those of you new to my scene, it would help to read Fallen Petals of the Rose first. It's not terribly well written, but it will definitely help you to grasp this fic and understand what the heck is going on. Don't worry, it's short and something good to do while bored! Of course, you can always go for the quick alternative and read it's full-on summary below!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Cowboy Bebop

Recap of Fallen Petals of the Rose (for the convenience of new-comers!): __

It started out as a normal day, more boring than usual, but normal none the less, when a bounty came in that had Faye a little on edge. _  
__  
He was a blast from the past, like an ice-cold punch in the face. His name was Drake Sekart. Or was it? You can't be too sure about these things as soon became apparent. There was far more to this mad man than met the eye. ___

Faye kept her cool and decided to go on the bounty, hoping that everything would work out and no one would have to know her secret. Of course, things hardly ever work out as planed. She wasn't prepared to face him, when he cornered her alone she chocked. With her life hanging in the balance, it was up to Spike to save the day. __

One problem: How do you con a conman? 

_Sekart was a murderer of a thousand names, an entourage of countless men with eyes and ears everywhere… Except for the janitor's closet. _

_It was there he met his most unlikely ally, James (or 'Becky' as he sometimes preferred), and learned a bit more about Sekart than he cared to. With this unlikely friend (and the promised 10 share of the bounty) he was able to con Sekart, the master conman._

_However, when everything was said and done and the cash had come, James was nowhere to be found… that is, until one day, while watching Big Shots, a familiar face came on. _

_Well, they _had_ wanted to find James… Now they had a clue where to look_

**Title: In Wake of the Petals **

Chapter 1: The Plan; Play It By Ear 

Drake Sekart does not, has not, and will not exist. He knew this perfectly well. He wasn't insane, even though some would argue differently. No, he was just a man with a plan. Unfortunately, a few men had to lose their lives in the process of said "plan". But in his defense, they were all creeps.

Ok, so he was a little crazy, but he most certainly was not "insane". Not like the old Sekart, anyhow. That guy was off his rocker and lying on the floor. He was paying for what he did; he wasn't prepared for the consequences.

James was more than prepared. He would do anything for his cause.

Besides, it was fun screwing with those guys... in both senses of the word. The killing he had gotten used to faster than he thought he would. Alright, he was more than a little crazy.

Every once in a while he wondered how it happened. Do all crazy people know they are crazy, or is it just a select few? But then, he didn't have long to ponder. He had "the plan" to attend to after all.

Ok, step one to The Plan: Start Small; a couple small jobs here and there to get into the rhythm.

Step two: Get on 'Big Shots' with a big enough bounty head.

Step three: Pull in the man who got him caught up in this in the first place. The one man who would make this whole job worth doing: Spike Spiegel.

Step four? Well, he'd get around to that later, when the time came.

Steps one and two were taken care of. Spike, being a bounty hunter, must have seen the show that had featured him. He was sure of it. He made sure Spike knew about him, he made sure the bounty on his head was worth while. If that didn't draw the man out, he would have to revert to plan B. And plan B wouldn't be easy, maybe even a little _messy_.

Mean while, a ship floated listlessly through space.

"Spike, I know the guy helped you out," Jet said, rubbing the back of his head. "But he's got a bounty on his head. Doesn't that mean something?"

"Jet," Spike sighed as he took a drag from his cigarette, "something else will come along- don't worry."

"Oh, Spike's just afraid of getting butt-raped," Faye laughed.

"Heh," Spike scoffed, "If you're so high and mighty, why don't you go and get him? It's not like he's the same guy. _But_ _if you can't handle it_..."

Faye held up her hand to silence him and snubbed her cigarette. As she stood up and crossed her arms she said, "Maybe I will."

She stomped off to her room defiantly and slammed the door behind her.

"Oh come on, Faye!" Spike called, "No one expects you to go after him, I was only joking."

Faye burst from her room in response, adorned in only a robe with a towel draped over her arm.

"Too late Spike," she smirked, "I've already got my heart _set_ on it. Ed, sweetie, mind looking James up for me while I'm in the shower?"

Ed saluted from her place on the floor, "Sure thing, Faye-Faye."

Faye leaned out of the bathroom and winked, "Awesome."

She slammed the door and the whistling sound of the shower could soon be heard.

"You're not going to let her do it by herself, are you?" Jet asked.

"I don't see why not, she's a big girl."

"Look, I don't know the whole story behind her and that Sekart guy," Jet said, "But from what I gathered it wasn't good."

"Don't worry so much," Spike said, "It's not even the same guy."

"Spike, the man's a _psycho_-"

"Who only kills _men_," Spike finished. "And not that I've gone so far as to check, but I'm fairly sure Faye's a woman."

Jet sighed and walked out of the room, "Whatever dude."

Spike shook his head and took another drag on his cigarette. He listlessly listened to the combined sound of Faye's shower and the fast clicking of Ed's fingers on Tomato. He wasn't worried; far from it, actually. Faye would be fine. And if something _did_ happen, well, he'd take care of it.

The rhythmic sounds of the Bebop were shattered by the high-pitched cry of delight from Ed. Apparently she'd found James. Not long after, the shower shut off and the bathroom door opened releasing a cloud of steam, from which stepped the now-clean Faye.

She tromped down the stairs in her robe, her hair tucked up in a turban like towel, wet ringlets hung by her face. She leaned over Ed's shoulder. "So Ed, what's the verdict?"

"Heee!" Ed flashed Faye a huge smile.

"I'll take that as a good sign. I have no _idea_ how you do it." Faye smiled and stood straight. "I guess I'll go get ready now."

"Yes," Spike said from the couch, "Please, for all our sakes, put some clothes on!"

Faye yanked the damp towel from her head and threw it at Spike. "Hey!" he cried, "You put out my cigarette!"

Faye stopped half way up the stairs, "Smoking's bad for you anyway."

"I don't see you quitting!"

"Never said I wasn't a hypocrite!" she yelled as she slammed her door.

Spike grunted and lit another cigarette. He figured Faye would be sorry when she realized there was now a burn mark in her fluffy yellow towel. "Stupid Shrew." He figured she'd probably get all high and mighty and get all bitchy if anyone tried to help, which would make his stepping in later be a bit difficult. He had no intention of letting her go the whole thing alone, but it's hard to get anything done when you're constantly fighting with someone you should be working with. He would have to make her realize the truth _before _she got them all killed.

Faye was seething up in her room. She hated feeling like she had to prove herself, but she hated the feeling of not proving herself more. She would show that stuck up prick that she wasn't a little daisy who couldn't manage things on her own. Sekart was her weakness, he saw that weakness. He went overboard in assuming that she couldn't handle the new fraud.

Count to think of it, she'd had enough frauds in her life. It's why she was on the Bebop in the first place. There was no danger in staying there; Jet and Spike, though they could be jerks, were not out to get her. They were not trying to seduce her, and she didn't have to seduce them. It was win-win. Of course, she had principals. Which was why she was now going after Sekart. Again.

Of course, this time around things would be different. For one thing, they didn't have a real history this time, and another? Well, this guy only killed men. Faye wasn't a guy; plain and simple.

She'd be damned if she'd let that Lunk-head interfere with this. She wasn't just doing this to prove him wrong; she was doing this for herself. Independence was important. Showing real dependence on someone was just not expectable. She'd already done that a few times. It was time to make up for it.

She finished up her make-up and bounded down the stairs. "Ok Ed, do you have what I need?"

"Yes, sir!" she saluted.

Faye read the screen and jotted down notes. When she stood up she said, "I'll be gone a while, don't try and contact me."

"Faye, you can't do this by yourself."

"Don't think I can handle it?"

"It's not a matter of handling it or not." He explained, "The fact is, one person can't take down an operation like this, it takes team work and time."

Faye faltered; she hated it when he made sense. "Fine, alright, we'll make a deal. I'll do some research and watch they guy for a while, figure out what he's doing here exactly. From there we'll play it by ear."

"And if he should, I don't know, _catch_ you?"

"We'll _play it_ by _ear_."

"What are you trying to prove anyway?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, "I don't have anything to prove."

Spike sighed, "Whatever. Get out of here."

"Way ahead of you," Faye walked out of the room.

"Stupid Shrew," he muttered.

He had a sinking feeling that this would be messy. What happened to him not caring? He took a drag from his cigarette as he remembered what Faye said.

"_We'll play it by ear."_

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**::AN:: **Please review! I'll love you forever if you do!

**_-DRC-_ **


	2. A Day of Enlightenment

**:AN:** Here we are at chapter two, a quite fabulous location if you ask me. Now I have a couple of things to get out of the way;

**#1.** Answer's to reviewer questions!

**kaimi yu ki**: When Faye said _"We'll play it by ear." _She said something akin to "We'll see what happens and go from there." As you can see, the latter is a mouthful, so I opted for the shorter expression. Hope that cleared things up!

**microfiber shoelaces**: Well, I could go straight out and tell you, but where's the fun in that? LoL, I'm rather transparent when it comes to coupling, it is a SF.

_I love all reviews! So thanks a large amount! If you have any further questions about this fic, feel free to ask and I will try to answer them the best I can (supposing they don't give away my plot)!_

**#2.** **My Disclaimer**: I don't own Cowboy Bebop; I'm but a simple girl whose world extends from her computer to a torture chamber known as _high school_. As you can see, my job title does not include "Genius".

**Title: In Wake of the Petals**

**Chapter 2: A Day of Enlightenment**

Spike decided that he was rather indecisive. One moment he would be _slightly_ anxious about Faye, the next he'd brush it off and focus on his cigarette. These fluctuating moods made him kind of fidgety… extremely fidgety, actually. He ached for something to keep himself busy. So far, his only refuge was standing up, pacing, and sitting down every five seconds.

Ed watched Spike with bright eyes. 'At least _someone's_ entertained,' he thought bitterly.

He sat down again, making a point to stay there. Soon his leg was bobbing up and down and his fingers were drumming the armrest of the sofa. His hand ran through his messy hair. This wasn't working out.

Then Spike had an epiphany; this was all Faye's fault. Her and her feminist power struggle crap. He was stuck on the Bebop with nothing to do because he said he'd let her "research" James, or Sekart, or whoever alone. If Faye had been there then he definitely would have insulted her, probably her eating habits… or something.

Then Spike had another epiphany; he didn't take orders from stupid shrews. He didn't have to sit around and wait for her phone call like a love-sick school girl, he was Spike Spiegel- _he_ was a man of action!

He crouched down where Ed was lying on her back and asked, "Ed, where'd Faye go?"

"I dunno," Ed replied in a daze, "Ask Ein."

So much for being a 'man of action'. He plopped down on his butt. "Come on, Ed," he coaxed. "You know where Faye went. Why don't you want to tell me?"

Ed rolled over onto her stomach. "I dunno."

Enter epiphany number three; Ed wanted something. "What do you want?"

Suddenly Ed was sitting up straight as a board. Spike learned a long time ago not to question how that girl moved. "Ed is very, _very_ glad Spike-Person asked."

After a couple minutes of deliberation, both parties were satisfied, one being more on the frustrated side- that one, of course, being Spike. Hey, you try deliberating with a mad child genius.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Ed said as she forced Spike to shake her hand and "seal the deal".

"Geez," Jet laughed, "The way you're carrying on it's like she wanted a cruiser instead of a chocolate cake."

"Have _you_ ever tried to negotiate with her?" he asked, jabbing a thumb for emphasis.

"Yeah, yeah," Jet said getting comfortable on the couch and popping open a can of soda. "You going now or what?"

"Don't miss me too much." Spike sarcastically replied.

"Are you kidding?" he asked, "Do you know how long it's been since I've been able to escape you and Faye? I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

"If you haven't noticed, Faye left a while ago."

Jet raised an eyebrow.

"What! I can't be that bad!"

"Normally I'd have to agree," Jet explained. "But your recent fidgeting episode didn't make you the best company in the world."

"Love you too."

"So, where're you off to?"

"Industrial City, Venus."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Jet waved his hands. "That huge industrial park?"

"No, _city._"

"Why would James be in a place like that?"

Spike shrugged. "I have no idea, but that's where Ed said he was."

"Well good luck trying to find Faye there, I hear the place is like a maze."

"No sweat," Spike replied. "Oh, and before I forget, do you happen to know of any bakeries down there? I have no clue where to find a chocolate cake."

"Sorry man," Jet chuckled, "You're on your own there."

"Great," Spike muttered on his way out.

It was not hard for him to find Industrial City at all. The same could not be said for Faye. Jet had not been joking when he said the place was like a maze, all those buildings and alley ways and roads… it was a total labyrinth.

Oh well, he'd just start looking for a bakery. Faye always showed up when you weren't looking for her. Soon he began to wonder if there were any people at all in the city, the streets were desolate, the buildings were a monotonous grey, and there wasn't a sign of human life anywhere, no bars, to cars, no nothing.

Then he rounded a corner. Oh. Suddenly he found himself submerged in a busy lane, people, stores, cars, and animals were everywhere. There was bound to be something like a bakery here.

He decided to go the rest of the journey on foot, and just down the way he found his bakery. Wouldn't Ed be happy that he actually kept his promise? He came out with the string bound parcel in hand and ran smack into Faye.

"What are you doing here, Spike?" she asked. Obviously she wasn't pleased to see him. Spike was all too happy to cause her minor discomforts.

"I was picking up a cake," he held up his proof.

"You were coming here to spy on me!" She pointed at him accusingly.

"No, I was picking up a cake." He smirked. "Like I'd come all this way to spy on you. Really you think too highly of yourself."

"You wouldn't come out all this way for me," Faye summarized, "But for a cake you would?"

Spike nodded. "Exactly. And now that we've gotten that out of the way, have you made any progress?"

"I smell an ulterior motive."

"Really? I smell chocolate." Spike glanced out of the corner of his eye and grabbed Faye's hand and forced her to walk with him. "So tell me, have you found a place to stay yet?"

Faye pulled away her hand, but continued walking beside Spike. "No, not yet."

They walked along in silence, taking three immediate right turns.

"I can't believe we're being followed so soon," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

"What's really got me going is that they found us so quick," Spike whispered back.

"How should we lose them?"

"We'll disappear," he pulled her through a door. "I don't think we can be heard in here. I bet they bugged the Swordfish."

Faye nodded, "Mine's probably bugged too, but I have something that can jam the signal." She tapped one of her bracelets.

"Aren't you the ever prepared one?"

She smiled. "I try. So where exactly are we?" She looked around the room.

"Looks like a lobby."

It was true, the room was a lobby of sorts, and luckily for them, the shabby looking place was vacant.

Suddenly a man appeared behind the counter. "Can I offer you folks a room?"

"No thanks," Spike replied, "We were just leaving."

"Why is that?" the man asked.

"We were just stopping in for a minute, but we're going to go now," Faye said, ignoring the question.

"That's not a good idea," the man said absently. "Everyone's looking for you. _He _knows where you are."

**:AN:** Sorry this took so long to get out… I was a bit distracted… among other things. Anyway, I'm going to try and keep up with it. We'll see how things go.


	3. The Room of DOOM!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Cowboy Bebop!

**Title: In Wake of the Petals**

**Chapter 3: The Room of DOOM!**

They froze. Could it possibly be that James had that much power? And if so, who knew where his surveillance ended, who knew how many men he had under him?

"What do you mean?" Spike asked the man.

"I mean that Sekart has been watching your every move," he didn't even look at the flustered duo.

"H-how?" Faye stepped forward.

The man finally glanced at them and shook his head. "You two have no clue what you've gotten yourselves into. This whole thing was arranged to lure you in."

"Why are you telling us this?" Spike demanded.

He was answered with a loud buzz. They turned in time to see door they had come through being sealed off by thick metal bars.

"Great," Faye muttered. "You just _had_ to ask."

They were assaulted with another noise, a far more frightening noise. The man shot a gun off at the ceiling. "If you'll both be so kind as to follow me." He gestured to the hallway behind him.

The pair was ushered in front of the man who kept his gun pointed directly at them. The man sighed. He wondered just what they'd do to him if they realized there were no more bullets left. Oh well, what they don't know won't hurt them… physically.

They group went up a stairwell and down another hall. They stopped in front of a door marked "2-C".

The man cracked a smile as he opened the door, the first they'd seen from him. "Welcome to Hotel Hell, on behalf of all the staff I hope that you find your stay unforgettable… Don't just stand there! Get in!"

Once inside, he slammed the door shut and locked it. The multiple clicks lead them to the conclusion that there were many locks. Information they were thrilled to learn.

Faye sat down on the bed and folded herself over her legs. "I can't believe this was all just some elaborate plot to lure us in! What could he possibly want from us?"

Spike set down the cake and lit a cigarette. "Can't be the money."

"This must be your fault," Faye decided.

"What? _My_ fault?"

"Yes!" Faye declared. "It most certainly isn't _my_ fault."

"Oh, so then it must only be logical to assume this whole mess is because of me," Spike said sarcastically.

"Wow, the Lunk-head has a brain after all," Faye spat.

Spike grunted and flung himself back on the bed, "Why am I here again?"

"Got me," Faye shrugged. "I told you not to come."

"Come off it already," Spike said smugly. "You know you can't do this without me."

"Right, because without you I might have been locked in a room by a lunatic innkeeper- oh wait! Never mind!" She yelled. "Besides you are forgetting that I'm very well equipped for these kinds of situations. Something Sekart _couldn't possibly_ be prepared for!" With a very confident smirk she pulled out a thin wire hidden safely in her bracelet and stuck it into the door. However upon doing so she was shocked, the little bolt of electricity shot out with a light blue color. "Damn it!" She cursed, sticking her finger into her mouth.

"Yeah Faye, he _couldn't possibly_ be prepared for you," Spike crooned.

"Shut up!" Faye walked over and smacked him on the head. "I don't see you trying anything!"

"Please, keep yelling," a voice said. Spike and Faye looked around the room, trying to find its source. They couldn't find anything. "It will make my job so much easier if you breathe in so hard. The gas will just knock you out that much sooner."

Faye's eyes widened, "Why are you doing this to us!"

She was answered with a deep, hearty laugh, then a crackle, then silence.

Faye crumpled to the floor taking deep breaths.

"Stupid Shrew!" Spike said going to her side. "Quit breathing so hard."

"Oh right, like it will make a difference," she said bitterly. "Either way we have to breathe that stuff in, I'd rather not drag it out. I mean, we don't even know if that stuff is going to kill us or just knock us out."

"God, you're such a drama queen. We're not going to die."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked.

"Think about it," he said. "This place is swarming with Sekart's men, right?" –Faye nodded- "Then they could have easily done the job with skilled snipers."

Faye looked at him wearily. Leave it to him to have a positive outlook with negative connotations. She stood up and stretched. "Whatever. If I'm going to sleep I might as well get comfy."

Spike watched Faye lie down on the bed. "You do realize that once we're out they are probably going to take away all of our weapons and possible means of escape, right?"

Faye's eyelids started to feel heavy, "We don't know what he wants with us –_yawn_- he's not going to kill us… yet anyway… so I guess we just have to rely on our smooth talking to –_yawn_- get us out of this one."

"In that case," Spike said taking three steps towards the bed before falling face down on it next to Faye, "You'd better let me do all the talking."

If Faye had been awake to hear him say that, she probably would have hit him.

The man who'd locked them in their watched from a monitor as they fell asleep. He decided to wait another ten minutes before shutting off the gas. From what he'd heard, these people didn't like to sit still for long. If they didn't move in that time period, they were asleep.

The gas was supposed to keep them out of commission for at least 5 hours. In that time nothing could wake them up, after that they could wake at their own leisure. It was quite ingenious really, and it provided just enough time to thoroughly disarm them and transport them to their real holding area; Sekart's main ship, the _Mister Sister_. The men tried to ignore the name, opting to call it the slightly less embarrassing _MS._

When he was sure they were out, he sent in his men to take care of them. They decided to send the cake along with them for kicks. After all, it would be funny to see their reaction to being trapped in a hopeless situation, but with a chocolate cake.

…They were bored… don't question it.

Hours later, they were still asleep, but they couldn't help it! Even though the drugs had worn off ages ago, there accommodations were so cushy they couldn't help but sleep. Sekart was getting bored waiting for them.

After a while, watching sleeping people can become dull and uninteresting, couple this with a man who has a short attention span as it is and well…

"Why?" he asked himself, "Just why did I have to give them the nice bed! Sure it seemed like a good idea at the time, but how could I have forgotten? When given the chance these people sleep as long as possible!"

"What do you suggest we do, Sir?" A random man at his side asked.

"Wake them up of course!" he yelled. "I don't care how you do it as long as they are alone when their eyes open!"

"Y-yes Sir!" the man scurried off to do his task. He and the others combined forces to come up with an idea. Seeing as it took about four henchmen to equal one normal person's brain, the process took a while. Eventually though, they did come up with a half way decent idea. They would blast horrible sounding music through the speakers in the room.

If that didn't wake them up, they didn't know what would. And if it did turn out to be the case, they sincerely hoped their boss acquired more patience… if not, it wouldn't be pretty…

Lucky for them, it did work. As soon as the couple was thoroughly shocked from the terrible tunes and undeniably incapable of sleep again, they shut it off.

And so the game of observation could really begin…

**:AN:** Um… sorry? –_sees angry readers and cowers_- Aw! Come on, now! It's not much longer, I promise! I know how it's going to end and everything… it's a real hoot if you ask me! Don't give up on me yet! Please? With sugar and chocolate and strawberries and ice cream and … mmm… I'm getting hungry… Oh yeah, _please_!

Review, but if you could find it in your hearts not to flame, I'd appreciate that. Oh, and if you could bring any errors in grammar or spelling to my attention, I would be most grateful, especially if you told me how to correct it… because, let's face it, even with spell check a few of my numerous errors are bound to get through. _Thanks_!


	4. The Captive and the Cake

**:AN:** Well, here you go. You all hate me for taking so long, I'll assume. This is short. I make no promises when the next chapter will be released. I'm thinking two more chapters tops. One thing I feel pretty safe promising is that it won't take me a year to get this fic finished.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Cowboy Bebop

**Title:** In Wake of the Petals

**Chapter 4:** The Captive and the Cake

Now that the duo had finally awoken, it was time for Sekart to reveal himself to them in voice. He had been practicing what he'd say to them for a long time. He cleared his throat.

"Ah," he said in a sinister tone. "I see that you have awoken."

"No shit, Sherlock," Spike yelled, rubbing his ears. He wasn't happy with the not so gentle wake up call.

He sighed, it really would have been better had they woken up naturally. It was a shame he was becoming so impatient. He chose to ignore Spike's outburst for posterity's sake. "I suppose it is only fair that I tell you where you are," he cleared his throat again. It was difficult to make his ship sound diabolical. He really should have thought harder when picking a name. "You are on my ship, the Mister Sister. And if you haven't yet guessed, I am Sekart."

"No you're not," Spike argued. "You're just some poor, confused man."

"Who is clearly insane," Faye added, having taken a while to recover from the blast of noise. She noticed that her bracelets had been confiscated… along with anything else that might have helped them escape.

He tried hard not to lose his temper, but you'd honestly think they'd be a little more grateful to him! Oh well, that wasn't the point at the moment. "Silence," he ordered. "You two owe me and I'm not letting you leave here until I get what I want." He smirked. "But here's the fun part, I'm not going to tell you what it is."

Oh Spike and Faye were just reeling with anger. This psycho was basically going to hold them there until they had a psychic epiphany and gave him what he wanted. "How the hell are we supposed to know what to give you then?" Faye asked.

"Oh, don't worry," he said. "I'll let you know when I see it. Until then… I'll be watching you…"

"Come on, who are you now, Big Brother?" Spike barked.

-CLICK- The intercom turned off.

Faye sat at the edge of the bed and looked around. The room was nicely furnished and the bed was comfortable, hell she even saw Spike's chocolate cake sitting on the stylish, yet unnecessary dresser. In fact, the only thing separating this room from something found in a resort was the lack of windows… and apparently a secretly located intercom and a collection of spy cameras. Still, it didn't make a whole lot of sense.

And another thing puzzled her. They supposedly had what Sekart, or James… whoever he was wanted, right? Then he could have easily taken it from them while they were unconscious. She voiced her feelings, "This doesn't make any sense."

"I know," Spike nodded. "They left us the chocolate cake but they didn't leave us any plates or utensils to eat it with."

Faye stared at Spike. Spike stared at Faye.

This was going to be a very long day.

Meanwhile, back in the observation room, the thugs who had left the chocolate cake in the room for their own amusement watched… with amusement.

"See," one said to the other, "I told you this would be funny!"

"Shh!" the other replied. "I want to see how they eat it!"

James buried his head in his hands. "When did this kidnapping operation turn into an idiot's convention?"

Back at the Bebop, Jet was becoming a little worried. He hadn't been able to contact Spike or Faye for hours. It was unlikely they would so blatantly ignore him unless something was wrong. If anything they would have contacted him to tell him to leave them alone.

It was just unsettling.

And his apprehension was only assisted by the fact that Ed was acting weirder than usual. She was bouncing off the walls and she hadn't even gotten that chocolate cake of hers yet! I mean, the kid was generally easy going to begin with, but her mood was just… beyond that; far, far beyond. She was bounding around the Bebop dancing around with Ein and singing an incoherent song.

Frankly, it was beginning to grate on his nerves. All he knew was that Spike and Faye had better return soon, there was no way he could get a straight-jacket on that kid without their help.

Faye, whom had been sprawled out on the bed, suddenly shot up. "I've got it!" She exclaimed. "I know what he's trying to do!"

"Oh, and what's that?" Spike asked with a semi-interested glance in the girl's direction. He had made himself comfortable in an armchair he found in one corner of the room. He had taken to studying the ceiling.

Faye fell back into her previous position. "He's trying to bore us to death." She had a point to her assumption. They'd been left alone with nothing to do whatsoever, the cake aside (Spike decided he might still try and save it for Ed, but they'd see), for hours. At least it felt like hours. They didn't even have a clock to stare blankly at.

The intercom crackled to life. "Excellent deduction my dear Valentine."

"Thank God!" Faye cried. "Do you know how torturous it is to be left alone in a room with him!" She pointed menacingly at Spike.

"Thanks for the sweet sentiment," Spike spat. "Stupid, little shrew, it hasn't been a vacation for me either!"

Sekart chuckled. "How touching, a lover's quarrel!"

"Right," Faye said. "Oh yeah, I can just _feel_ the love in this room!"

All humor left his voice. "You are staying in this room until I get what I want. I suggest you get comfortable."

"What makes you think we'd want to give you… whatever it is anyway?" Faye asked. "I mean, we'll get out of here. We always do!"

"Do you honestly think I didn't know that?" he sneered. "I've worked with you before; I know the ins and outs

"Do you honestly think we'd share all our information with a near perfect stranger?" Faye retaliated. "We aren't that stupid you know!" Spike nodded in agreement.

"I think you two underestimate the power that is Sekart!" He cried with pride.

Faye looked at Spike helplessly. She was about ready to smother herself to death with a pillow. With an annoyed grunt, she flung herself on them face first.

"I think you've forgotten something pretty important," Spike commented. "There is no Sekart, you helped us capture the last psycho pretending to be him, remember?"

"I… err. I swear you two are the densest, most infuriating people I have ever met!" Sekart growled.

"We're infuriating?" Faye cried indignantly, glaring at a location she hoped held a hidden camera. "You tailed us for God knows how long, locked us up, drugged us, locked up again, make us go insane with boredom, and refuse to tell us what it is you want from us!"

"Don't you get it!" He yelled.

"NO!" they replied.

He sighed and rubbed his temples. Why were they being so difficult? He hadn't taken this into account in The Plan. Oh well. He really didn't want to do this… but if it wasn't happening naturally, he'd have to impose upon them. "Boris, take Miss Valentine to the back room. She and I are going to have a bit of alone time."

He gauged the shift in the demeanor of his two conquests. Yes, this was more like it. He taped his fingers together in a diabolical sort of way. Sure, Faye would get a little mussed up in the process, but it was for a greater good!

Those two wouldn't know what hit them…

**:AN:** Yes, apparently I am evil enough to stop with a cliff-hanger. I'd laugh maniacally, but I think I've already been cruel enough.

Oh, Happy Christmahanikaquanzica!

You all know the drill…

R&R

-DRC-


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